a mid-week publication for the Williamsburg Christian Church family

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About Fred

I am a follower of Jesus, the husband to Alison Glenn, daddy to my little man Ian. I am a son, brother, friend, multi-vocational pastor of Williamsburg Christian Church, ethnographer, activist and justice seeker, founder and president of 3e Restoration Inc, and adjunct professor at Rochester College and Regent University. I received my B.S. in Ministry/Bible at Amridge University and my Masters of Religious Education in Missional Leadership (MREML) from Rochester College. I am currently working toward my Doctorate of Ministry in Contextual Theology at Northern Seminary.

I read this in my devotional this morning and began sending emails to share it with all that came to mind. Then it occurred to me that I should post it here to share it with you all. I’m growing in my conviction of truth of these words. Perhaps it will make greater sense of why we practice the presence of God in silence during our worship gatherings and need to do so during the week. Have a grace-filled week.

“Contemplative Prayer

Over and over Scripture invites us to abide in God. To rest in God. To dwell in God. More than fifty times, Paul repeats the phrase “in Christ.” Contemplative prayer is not just about activity and speaking but also about listening and resting in God. Many of us have grown up thinking of prayer as a checklist of requests to God, like giving a grocery list to someone headed to the supermarket. As one kid said, “I’m heading off to pray — does anyone need anything?” Prayer is certainly about sharing our concerns and frustrations with God. God is personal enough to come down and wrestle in the dirt with Jacob or answer Abraham’s pleading on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. Still, contemplative prayer goes deeper.

A primary purpose of prayer is to impress on us the personality and character of Christ. We want to become like Jesus, so the life that we live is no longer ours but Christ living in us and through us.

Prayer is less about trying to get God to do something we want God to do and more about getting ourselves to do what God wants us to do and to become who God wants us to become. There are times when we speak, weep, groan, and shout at God. But there are also times when we simply sit in silence and are held by our Beloved. We remember the character of God, the fruit of the Spirit, and the incarnation of ­Jesus as he reveals to us what God is like with flesh on. And we pray that God’s character will become our character. The monks have been known to say, “If your speaking doesn’t add something beautiful to the silence, don’t speak.” For many of us in the high-paced, cluttered world of materialism and noise, silence is a way we can free up the space to listen to God.

In most of our lives, silence gets interrupted pretty quickly. Whether it’s a knock at the door, a cry from the nursery, or thoughts in our own heads, something almost always breaks the silence we long for in contemplative prayer. It is tempting to give up — to say that silence is not possible in our context or “I’m not cut out for this.” But the wisdom of those who’ve gone before is helpful here. Teresa of Avila, who was distracted by her own thoughts in prayer, said she learned not to fight them but to let them come and go like waves in the sea, trusting that God was an anchor who could hold her through any storm.

Contemplation is about tending to the lines that anchor us in Christ. For Francis of Assisi, the San Damiano cross was one of those lines, serving as an icon to focus his prayer on Christ’s love. It was in hours of prayer before this cross that he heard Jesus say, “Rebuild my church, which is in ruins,” then he got up to start the most radical renewal movement of the Middle Ages. Activism that matters to the kingdom is always rooted in prayer. If we want to join God in changing the world, the place to begin is on our knees before the cross.”

On a Labor Day weekend with many of our church family away, the grace of God was made evident through your generosity. We were able to collect a total of $5,075 for Hurricane Harvey disaster relief. Praise the Lord!

Thank you for your hospitality, compassion and generosity toward the hurting and displaced in southeast Texas. You never cease to amaze me with your love, WCC. I also want to sing the praises of our Shepherds and thank them for their faithful leadership to present this opportunity to us. I’ve served with enough churches and have enough friends in vocational ministry to know that not all congregations have shepherds that will make decisions like this in fear that the general offering will be short-changed. It didn’t even come up as a concern with our leadership. I’ve come to believe that this is one of the reasons why God blesses WCC so abundantly. I pray we always honor our Lord faithfully and courageously, especially in moments like these. We are blessed to have these Shepherds watch over us and lead us onward in God’s mission. And I know they count themselves blessed to serve you!

Let’s continue to pray for the healing of our neighbors in southeast Texas. Let’s pray for the shalom of God to overwhelm the hopelessness and confusion. Let’s pray for the Church to rise up with self-giving love expressed through hospitality, generosity, and compassion, and a willingness to put our hands to work on their behalf. Let’s pray so we can discern if we, any of us in WCC, are to be answer to these prayers.

I have included a link to an update from CRF (Christian Relief Fund) concerning their efforts. You can access it here. I am very thankful for their work.

Have a grace-filled week as you discern what the Spirit is doing within you and out ahead of you in the lives of those you’ll cross each day.

This Sunday we will take up a special offering for disaster relief in Houston and other cities in Texas. As usual we will work through Christian Relief Fund – CRF. 100% of the money given will go directly to our neighbors in Houston for relief. I have been in communication with Milt (CEO of CRF) and they are partnering with an local agency to coordinate and insure adequate distribution and allocation of resources. As experts well practiced in bringing relief to disasters both domestic and abroad in over 20 countries, I am confident they will do an excellent job.

As of yesterday, CRF had volunteers on the ground in Portland Texas where 20,000 residents were affected. Their volunteers are on the ground providing much-needed clean water, serving hot meals (up to 4,000 per day!), providing beds and supplies for local shelters, and offering free shower facilities. As the situation in Portland begins to shift toward rebuilding, they will provide tools and volunteer support to local residents looking to repair their homes and rebuild their live

Please begin discerning what you’re able to give this Sunday.

We are also exploring what it involves to send more boots on the ground to join the CRF volunteers to serve Houston. We will talk more about this Sunday.

In the meantime please continue to pray. The trauma many have experienced will be be a barrier no amount of money will overcome. At first there will be shock trauma brought about by the event. Then there will be cumulative trauma brought about by an unfolding of circumstances and anxiety-producing barriers to their recovery. The cumulative trauma can lead to depression, and for some, PTSD. It has the potential to be a debilitating force.

Let’s pray for their healing. Let’s pray for the shalom of God to overwhelm the hopelessness and confusion. Let’s pray for the Church to rise up with self-giving love expressed through hospitality, generosity, and compassion, and a willingness to put our hands to work on their behalf. Let’s pray so we can discern if we, any of us in WCC, are to be answer to these prayers. I’m sure in many ways we will be.

Over the past three years I have lost three dear friends for three very different reasons. All were formerly homeless. All were thrust in to making difficult choices under difficult circumstances. All did the best with what they had. All were ushered in to my life and the lives of God’s people. All were truly […]

Today is Ascension Day! It is one of the earliest Christian festivals, dating back as early as the year 68.*

According to the teachings of the New Testament Scriptures, Jesus Christ met several times with his disciples during the 40 days after his resurrection so he could teach them about life in the Kingdom of God. On the 40th day, he took them to the Mount of Olives, where they watched as he ascended to heaven to reign as Lord of all. This day also symbolizes the end of the Easter season, and takes place ten days before Pentecost.

Today, pause and celebrate that Jesus is Lord. Ascension Day reminds us that no world power can overtake the Father’s promise. Ascension Day reminds us that no impossibility is impossible for God. Ascension Day reminds us that no matter how unstable our society becomes the light of King Jesus can guide our feet to the path of peace where HIs joy can be our strength. In and by the Lord Jesus, God has entered into our suffering, embodied our sorrow, and enabled our salvation. We are citizens of a kingdom that isn’t frail, is never fickle, and will not fail. Capitol Hill can never outdo Calvary’s Hill and the Pentagon will never possess the power of what came to us in Pentecost.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son,” and He has been exalted as Lord of all.

For God so loved and still loves, that He loves you without caution or restraint; He loves you without boundaries or limits; He loves you beyond your inadequacies or failures and beyond worthiness or unworthiness; He gave His one and only Son to prove it and to show us what love looks like with skin on. For God so loved, and He can’t stop. His love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. God’s love will never fail because Jesus is Lord.

See you all Sunday,

Fred

* According to Augustine of Hippo, the Feast of Ascension originated with the Apostles. John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa, contemporaries of Augustine as you may recall, refer to it as being one of the oldest feasts practiced by the Church, possibly going as far back as AD 68. There is no written evidence, however, of the Church honoring Ascension Day until Augustine’s time in the fourth century. Cf. Laura Holt, “Inquisitiones Januarii, Ad,” in: Augustine through the Ages: An Encyclopedia, ed. by Allan D. Fitzgerald (Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans, 1999), 452.

In this post are practical ways in which we can make the greatest commandments our great commission.

I’ve been thinking about how the Christian life has been anchored in what Christians (mostly preachers and scholars) have branded as the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:16ff), despite the fact the Scriptures never explicitly or implicitly refer to it in that way. Yet, the Lord Jesus explicitly calls loving God and loving our neighbors as we […]

In the Cross, God speaks what is true for those who believe. As the Word Incarnate died upon it the Cross becomes His voice. In the Cross, God offers this message of truth in both a promise and summons. The promise is new life lived with God now and forever. The summons is to live this new life with a deep-seated trust and obedience to the way of life witnessed in Jesus, and to do so in community with others who believe. In the Cross, God speaks what is true.

No longer lost, we can live in light.

No longer dead, we can come alive.

No longer blind, we can see.

No longer suffocating, we can freely breathe.

No longer broken, we can be healed.

No longer numb, we can feel.

No longer stained, we can be made pure.

No longer weak, we can endure.

No longer deceived, we can know the truth.

No longer must we search, His love is proof.

He is our way. He is our light.

He is always true. He is our life.

He never leaves. He is our peace.

He is our help and sweet relief.

He is our strength. He is sure.

He is more than enough. He is the crucified Lord.

Have a meaningful Holy Saturday and I look forward to us being together on Resurrection Sunday!